We’ve seen a ton of demonstrations in the Bay Area over the years. And as a native Pennsylvanian and diehard football fan, we know how powerful and popular fired coach Joe Paterno is, especially back there.

Still, something about the reaction to this baffles us. Many have criticized the Occupy Wall Street protests here and elsewhere. And with good reason — when they turn violent. At their core, however, Occupy is about frustration at our economic inequalities and our broken political and economic systems. Real life stuff. There were 1,000 students demonstrating Wednesday night at UC-Berkeley to protest rising tuition.

Last night in State College, PA thousands turned out Wednesday for Paterno. They chanted his name, as well as the iconic “We are/Penn State” cheer. Their concern was about a football coach, not the alleged victims.

In fact, as Centre Daily Times reporter Anne Danahy tells us, no campus demonstration in recent memory even comes close to matching the one in support of Paterno.Well, there have been other “riots” – but mostly in the name of football there.

Think about that. Students are being forced to drop out of this state-funded school because they can’t keep up with the tuition increases. Many campus employees aren’t getting raises. But that didn’t get the student body fired up as much as losing a football coach –and long-time educator — who appears to have thought more about preserving his football program than protecting the children allegedly being violated.

Penn State students and supporters have a chance Saturday to show how much they care about the victims. They’re being asked to wear blue — instead of their traditional white — as a symbol of support for the alleged victims. It’s not a big ask — Penn State’s colors are blue and white — but the symbolism would be powerful.